Can you imagine preaching week-by-week to several members of the first family? Well, with several immediate family members of newly elected President of South Africa Jacob Zuma attending Godfirst Church in Johannesburg, I now enjoy that deep privilege week by week. But let's back up a bit: some members of Godfirst think Mr. Zuma is "God's man for the job," and others are appalled by his election. Who's right? Well, here's what I said to our church in the wake of his appointment.

Sort It Out, God!

In Acts 1 the disciples asked Jesus if he was finally going to sort out the political scene. You know, throw out the Romans and install a decent Jewish government. He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." Jesus responded by giving them a comfort and a couple of challenges:

• A comfort: God's got it covered. He reassured them that all political dates and seasons submit to our sovereign God. God is sovereign over the ballot box (Rom. 13:1, Ps. 75:7, Is. 40:23). That should settle your heart whether or not Mr. Zuma or Mr. Obama was your choice.
• Challenge 1: Be content to be clay. Jesus tells them straight up that humans are not privy to the divine program or political seasons. God's job is to know, and yours is to trust. Do you feel a bit snubbed by that? If so, I will let Arthur W. Pink sort you out. He says, "It would be foolish for us to expect that this doctrine will meet with general approval, for the trend of modern theology—if theology it can be called—is ever toward the deification of the creature rather than the glorification of the Creator." (The Sovereignty of God)
• Challenge 2: Keep your eye on the gospel ball. Then Jesus tells them to receive the Holy Spirit and crack on with the primary reason they are on earth—being his witnesses from the neighborhoods to the nations (Acts 1:8). I am good with believers being excellent and salty moms, dads, businesspeople, doctors, and working for godly and effective political change; yes, I am all for that, so long as it all comes a distant second to the gospel mandate. Let's keep our eye on the ball—the gospel ball.

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Titus' Milestones to Maturity Series: Click | View Series

Here are some assists in burning hot and long with godly zeal:

• Time with Jesus. Spending time alone with Jesus results in a myriad of good things, including an impartation of his zeal. I come away from my times with God burning with his authority, love, and zeal. He is the ultimate stoker of zeal and in fact, without regular time with him we run the risk of developing zeal for the job, zeal without knowledge, or other equally dangerous counterfeits of the real zeal.
• Get hold of "the faith" for yourself. Paul says we are to each get our own grip on the faith (1 Timothy 3:9). Make sure you believe what you believe with a clear conscience, both about doctrine and the mission of your church.
• Allow hardship, setbacks, and suffering to develop your own conviction and zeal. Relentless zeal is produced through tough times. See them through, and the hardships will stoke the fires of zeal. Seasons of frustratingly slow church growth have always made me dig deep into God, purify my motives, and reaffirm my zeal for the advance of God's kingdom.
• Keep taking risks. Continuously stepping out of your comfort zone and staying on the faith-stretch keeps the adrenaline levels high, but more importantly, allows you to keep seeing God in action—feel the zeal, baby! So don't take your cloak or wallet with you; let God arise. The taking of risks is not much in vogue in our "health and safety" paranoid culture, and this is one of Satan's most cunning plans to castrate true leadership. Leadership presupposes forward motion, not just managing the status quo. Here's the math: no risk taking, no forward motion.
• Avoid dead works like the plague. Dead works are "doing the stuff" because we have to, and it is "what us Christians have to do." Yuk. These are works void of love and faith, and they will profit you nothing, others little, and are an offense to God. Also, you won't get any rewards for them! A pastor of another church attended Godfirst for six weeks to see what he could learn. At the end he said to me, "I have never seen such a generous and hardworking church, but in the last six weeks I haven't heard you tell anyone to do anything. How does that work?" I talked him through the difference between God-fueled living and dead-works-fueled living.
• Think on the cloud of witnesses. In preparation for a trip to the USA, I've been reading American history. I read about General Patton who, as a young soldier in World War I, was paralyzed with fear during a brutal skirmish with the enemy. Cowering behind cover, he got a vision of the long line of military ancestors watching him from above. Stirred by his heritage, he jumped to his feet and led the charge shouting at the top of his voice, "It is time for another Patton to die!" We are watched by a cloud of zealots (Hebrews 12); let's get out there and lead another charge!

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Titus' Milestones to Maturity Series: Click | View Series

Ever wondered how Titus went from zero to hero—from an unknown nobody to one of the most respected apostolic figures in the New Testament? I can spot three distinct milestones that he passed that we can imitate.

Milestone 3: Gaining My Own Zeal

This is the big one. On the journey to maturity and leadership, many pass Milestones 1 and 2, yet find Milestone 3 elusive. Milestone 3 is the place of gaining your own zeal.

Take a look at what Paul says of Titus: "But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit." (2 Corinthians 8:16-17, 23)

What a jump! Titus goes from being the tag-on servant-hearted guy to a leader in his own right whom Paul now speaks of as "my partner and fellow worker." How did this radical promotion happen? Answer: Titus gained his own zeal.

At Milestone 3 something clicks, and we develop zeal, enthusiasm, and initiative derived directly from God. We begin to do things not primarily because we are told to or asked to, but because God's zeal is welling up inside us and becoming our own zeal. The things that God and Paul were passionate about had now also become Titus' passion. He owned the mission for himself. At Milestone 3 our fire is stoked from within us by God more than by a "Paul" outside of us.

Biblical Examples of Milestone 3

Isaiah hit the third milestone when he voluntarily responded to God's general call. Deep within, he found his own zeal for the call.

Nehemiah hit the third milestone when he took personal responsibility to rebuild Jerusalem. He was serving God just fine at Milestone 2, but then everything changed when the zeal of God for Jerusalem became his zeal for Jerusalem. Who told him to do it? God. Where was the fire? In his belly.

When confronted by Goliath, 10,000 Israeli troops stayed at Milestone 1 or 2, and only David made the leap to Milestone 3. In the next part, I will look at ways to burn hot and long with your own zeal from God.

To be continued.

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Titus' Milestones to Maturity Series: Click | View Series

Ever wondered how Titus went from zero to hero—from an unknown nobody to one of the most respected apostolic figures in the New Testament? I can spot three distinct milestones that he passed that we can imitate.

Milestone 1: Show Up and Be Willing

Titus first appears in scripture in Galatians 2:1 as the tag-on team member to Jerusalem. Paul introduces Titus saying, "Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me." Titus is not the main guy. He is not even the number two guy. He is the tag-on guy. Not George Michael but, uh, the other one.

Titus got involved because Paul asked him to join in, and Titus said yes. Isn't this usually how it all starts, with our attachment being more to the leader than to God? "Sure, I will help you put out the chairs" or "Lead a small group? I'll give it a go but please help me!" Milestone 1 is simply to show up and be willing. Good things begin to happen to people who faithfully show up.

Milestone 2: Serve, Serve, Serve

It seems that Titus acquitted himself well on the trip to Jerusalem, so now Paul begins to push his buttons to see if he is willing to serve. The second time that we encounter Titus is when he is mentioned as the one that Paul asked to carry a letter to Corinth (2 Corinthians 7), a letter that scholars refer to as "the severe letter." He was the postman to Corinth carrying unpopular cargo—welcome to step two: willingness to do menial tasks.

Not being in the limelight tests whether we will represent our leader faithfully. Would the church in Corinth shoot the messenger? Would Titus distance himself from Paul's letter or represent him faithfully? The second milestone is the Copernican revolution that moves self away from the center of our universe and into service. Good things begin to happen to people who faithfully serve.

To be continued.

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